VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Letter: B.C., especially Surrey, does not need permanent standard time
Surrey resident Daryl Dela Cruz argues that permanent standard time would not improve students’ morning sunlight and would leave less daylight for their after-school activities. He points to staggered starts at overcrowded Surrey schools, which mean many local students wake earlier than students elsewhere in the B.C.
Editor,
I look forward to a move to permanent daylight time (PDT) and lament the “scientists” who want permanent standard time instead, claiming it is “better for our health” or “better for school children.” They are advocating a fallacy.
When I was in high school, every 6 a.m. wake-up was already in the dark. Adopting standard time instead of daylight time would not fix that. But by the time I walked home after extracurricular activities each afternoon, the sun had already set—typically between 4:30 and 5 p.m. If I were still in high school, that extra hour of sunlight would make a difference to me.
It is a blatant fallacy to suggest that B.C. youth and children would “get more sunlight” under a PST schedule rather than PDT. Schoolchildren would be indoors for every minute of the extra morning sun afforded by PST. And extracurriculars after school? Kiss the sun goodbye.
The issue is exacerbated in Surrey, where overcrowded schools mean staggered starts. Many students here wake earlier than anywhere else in the province. PST would plunge these students into eternal darkness for every minute they spend outside school.
Best, Daryl Dela Cruz, Surrey